Reference ========= .. currentmodule:: factory This section offers an in-depth description of factory_boy features. For internals and customization points, please refer to the :doc:`internals` section. The :class:`Factory` class -------------------------- Meta options """""""""""" .. class:: FactoryOptions .. versionadded:: 2.4.0 A :class:`Factory`'s behaviour can be tuned through a few settings. For convenience, they are declared in a single ``class Meta`` attribute: .. code-block:: python class MyFactory(factory.Factory): class Meta: model = MyObject abstract = False .. attribute:: model This optional attribute describes the class of objects to generate. If unset, it will be inherited from parent :class:`Factory` subclasses. .. versionadded:: 2.4.0 .. attribute:: abstract This attribute indicates that the :class:`Factory` subclass should not be used to generate objects, but instead provides some extra defaults. It will be automatically set to ``True`` if neither the :class:`Factory` subclass nor its parents define the :attr:`~FactoryOptions.model` attribute. .. warning:: This flag is reset to ``False`` when a :class:`Factory` subclasses another one if a :attr:`~FactoryOptions.model` is set. .. versionadded:: 2.4.0 .. attribute:: inline_args Some factories require non-keyword arguments to their :meth:`~object.__init__`. They should be listed, in order, in the :attr:`inline_args` attribute: .. code-block:: python class UserFactory(factory.Factory): class Meta: model = User inline_args = ('login', 'email') login = 'john' email = factory.LazyAttribute(lambda o: '%s@example.com' % o.login) firstname = "John" .. code-block:: pycon >>> UserFactory() >>> User('john', 'john@example.com', firstname="John") # actual call .. versionadded:: 2.4.0 .. attribute:: exclude While writing a :class:`Factory` for some object, it may be useful to have general fields helping defining others, but that should not be passed to the model class; for instance, a field named 'now' that would hold a reference time used by other objects. Factory fields whose name are listed in :attr:`exclude` will be removed from the set of args/kwargs passed to the underlying class; they can be any valid factory_boy declaration: .. code-block:: python class OrderFactory(factory.Factory): class Meta: model = Order exclude = ('now',) now = factory.LazyFunction(datetime.datetime.utcnow) started_at = factory.LazyAttribute(lambda o: o.now - datetime.timedelta(hours=1)) paid_at = factory.LazyAttribute(lambda o: o.now - datetime.timedelta(minutes=50)) .. code-block:: pycon >>> OrderFactory() # The value of 'now' isn't passed to Order() >>> # An alternate value may be passed for 'now' >>> OrderFactory(now=datetime.datetime(2013, 4, 1, 10)) .. versionadded:: 2.4.0 .. attribute:: rename Sometimes, a model expects a field with a name already used by one of :class:`Factory`'s methods. In this case, the :attr:`rename` attributes allows to define renaming rules: the keys of the :attr:`rename` dict are those used in the :class:`Factory` declarations, and their values the new name: .. code-block:: python class ImageFactory(factory.Factory): # The model expects "attributes" form_attributes = ['thumbnail', 'black-and-white'] class Meta: model = Image rename = {'form_attributes': 'attributes'} .. versionadded: 2.6.0 .. attribute:: strategy Use this attribute to change the strategy used by a :class:`Factory`. The default is :data:`CREATE_STRATEGY`. Attributes and methods """""""""""""""""""""" .. class:: Factory **Class-level attributes:** .. attribute:: Meta .. attribute:: _meta .. versionadded:: 2.4.0 The :class:`FactoryOptions` instance attached to a :class:`Factory` class is available as a :attr:`_meta` attribute. .. attribute:: Params .. versionadded:: 2.7.0 The extra parameters attached to a :class:`Factory` are declared through a :attr:`Params` class. See :ref:`the "Parameters" section ` for more information. .. attribute:: _options_class .. versionadded:: 2.4.0 If a :class:`Factory` subclass needs to define additional, extra options, it has to provide a custom :class:`FactoryOptions` subclass. A pointer to that custom class should be provided as :attr:`_options_class` so that the :class:`Factory`-building metaclass can use it instead. **Base functions:** The :class:`Factory` class provides a few methods for getting objects; the usual way being to simply call the class: .. code-block:: pycon >>> UserFactory() # Calls UserFactory.create() >>> UserFactory(login='john') # Calls UserFactory.create(login='john') Under the hood, factory_boy will define the :class:`Factory` :meth:`~object.__new__` method to call the default :ref:`strategy ` of the :class:`Factory`. A specific strategy for getting instance can be selected by calling the adequate method: .. classmethod:: build(cls, **kwargs) Provides a new object, using the 'build' strategy. .. classmethod:: build_batch(cls, size, **kwargs) Provides a list of :obj:`size` instances from the :class:`Factory`, through the 'build' strategy. .. classmethod:: create(cls, **kwargs) Provides a new object, using the 'create' strategy. .. classmethod:: create_batch(cls, size, **kwargs) Provides a list of :obj:`size` instances from the :class:`Factory`, through the 'create' strategy. .. classmethod:: stub(cls, **kwargs) Provides a new stub .. classmethod:: stub_batch(cls, size, **kwargs) Provides a list of :obj:`size` stubs from the :class:`Factory`. .. classmethod:: generate(cls, strategy, **kwargs) Provide a new instance, with the provided :obj:`strategy`. .. classmethod:: generate_batch(cls, strategy, size, **kwargs) Provides a list of :obj:`size` instances using the specified strategy. .. classmethod:: simple_generate(cls, create, **kwargs) Provide a new instance, either built (``create=False``) or created (``create=True``). .. classmethod:: simple_generate_batch(cls, create, size, **kwargs) Provides a list of :obj:`size` instances, either built or created according to :obj:`create`. **Extension points:** A :class:`Factory` subclass may override a couple of class methods to adapt its behaviour: .. classmethod:: _adjust_kwargs(cls, **kwargs) .. OHAI_VIM** The :meth:`_adjust_kwargs` extension point allows for late fields tuning. It is called once keyword arguments have been resolved and post-generation items removed, but before the :attr:`~FactoryOptions.inline_args` extraction phase. .. code-block:: python class UserFactory(factory.Factory): @classmethod def _adjust_kwargs(cls, **kwargs): # Ensure ``lastname`` is upper-case. kwargs['lastname'] = kwargs['lastname'].upper() return kwargs .. OHAI_VIM** .. classmethod:: _setup_next_sequence(cls) This method will compute the first value to use for the sequence counter of this factory. It is called when the first instance of the factory (or one of its subclasses) is created. Subclasses may fetch the next free ID from the database, for instance. .. classmethod:: _build(cls, model_class, *args, **kwargs) .. OHAI_VIM* This class method is called whenever a new instance needs to be built. It receives the model class (provided to :attr:`~FactoryOptions.model`), and the positional and keyword arguments to use for the class once all has been computed. Subclasses may override this for custom APIs. .. classmethod:: _create(cls, model_class, *args, **kwargs) .. OHAI_VIM* The :meth:`_create` method is called whenever an instance needs to be created. It receives the same arguments as :meth:`_build`. Subclasses may override this for specific persistence backends: .. code-block:: python class BaseBackendFactory(factory.Factory): class Meta: abstract = True # Optional def _create(cls, model_class, *args, **kwargs): obj = model_class(*args, **kwargs) obj.save() return obj .. OHAI_VIM* .. classmethod:: _after_postgeneration(cls, obj, create, results=None) :arg object obj: The object just generated :arg bool create: Whether the object was 'built' or 'created' :arg dict results: Map of post-generation declaration name to call result The :meth:`_after_postgeneration` is called once post-generation declarations have been handled. Its arguments allow to handle specifically some post-generation return values, for instance. **Advanced functions:** .. classmethod:: reset_sequence(cls, value=None, force=False) :arg int value: The value to reset the sequence to :arg bool force: Whether to force-reset the sequence Allows to reset the sequence counter for a :class:`~factory.Factory`. The new value can be passed in as the ``value`` argument: .. code-block:: pycon >>> SomeFactory.reset_sequence(4) >>> SomeFactory._next_sequence 4 Since subclasses of a non-:attr:`abstract ` :class:`~factory.Factory` share the same sequence counter, special care needs to be taken when resetting the counter of such a subclass. By default, :meth:`reset_sequence` will raise a :exc:`ValueError` when called on a subclassed :class:`~factory.Factory` subclass. This can be avoided by passing in the ``force=True`` flag: .. code-block:: pycon >>> InheritedFactory.reset_sequence() Traceback (most recent call last): File "factory_boy/tests/test_base.py", line 179, in test_reset_sequence_subclass_parent SubTestObjectFactory.reset_sequence() File "factory_boy/factory/base.py", line 250, in reset_sequence "Cannot reset the sequence of a factory subclass. " ValueError: Cannot reset the sequence of a factory subclass. Please call reset_sequence() on the root factory, or call reset_sequence(forward=True). >>> InheritedFactory.reset_sequence(force=True) >>> This is equivalent to calling :meth:`reset_sequence` on the base factory in the chain. .. _parameters: Parameters """""""""" .. versionadded:: 2.7.0 Some models have many fields that can be summarized by a few parameters; for instance, a train with many cars — each complete with serial number, manufacturer, ...; or an order that can be pending/shipped/received, with a few fields to describe each step. When building instances of such models, a couple of parameters can be enough to determine all other fields; this is handled by the :class:`~Factory.Params` section of a :class:`Factory` declaration. Simple parameters ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Some factories only need little data: .. code-block:: python class ConferenceFactory(factory.Factory): class Meta: model = Conference class Params: duration = 'short' # Or 'long' start_date = factory.fuzzy.FuzzyDate() end_date = factory.LazyAttribute( lambda o: o.start_date + datetime.timedelta(days=2 if o.duration == 'short' else 7) ) sprints_start = factory.LazyAttribute( lambda o: o.end_date - datetime.timedelta(days=0 if o.duration == 'short' else 1) ) .. code-block:: pycon >>> Conference(duration='short') >>> Conference(duration='long') Any simple parameter provided to the :class:`Factory.Params` section is available to the whole factory, but not passed to the final class (similar to the :attr:`~FactoryOptions.exclude` behavior). Traits ~~~~~~ .. class:: Trait(**kwargs) .. OHAI VIM** .. versionadded:: 2.7.0 A trait's parameters are the fields it sohuld alter when enabled. For more complex situations, it is helpful to override a few fields at once: .. code-block:: python class OrderFactory(factory.Factory): class Meta: model = Order state = 'pending' shipped_on = None shipped_by = None class Params: shipped = factory.Trait( state='shipped', shipped_on=datetime.date.today, shipped_by=factory.SubFactory(EmployeeFactory), ) Such a :class:`Trait` is activated or disabled by a single boolean field: .. code-block:: pycon >>> OrderFactory() Order(state='pending') >>> OrderFactory(shipped=True) A :class:`Trait` can be enabled/disabled by a :class:`Factory` subclass: .. code-block:: python class ShippedOrderFactory(OrderFactory): shipped = True Values set in a :class:`Trait` can be overridden by call-time values: .. code-block:: pycon >>> OrderFactory(shipped=True, shipped_on=last_year) :class:`Traits ` can be chained: .. code-block:: python class OrderFactory(factory.Factory): class Meta: model = Order # Can be pending/shipping/received state = 'pending' shipped_on = None shipped_by = None received_on = None received_by = None class Params: shipped = factory.Trait( state='shipped', shipped_on=datetime.date.today, shipped_by=factory.SubFactory(EmployeeFactory), ) received = factory.Trait( shipped=True, state='received', shipped_on=datetime.date.today - datetime.timedelta(days=4), received_on=datetime.date.today, received_by=factory.SubFactory(CustomerFactory), ) .. code-block:: pycon >>> OrderFactory(received=True) A :class:`Trait` might be overridden in :class:`Factory` subclasses: .. code-block:: python class LocalOrderFactory(OrderFactory): class Params: received = factory.Trait( shipped=True, state='received', shipped_on=datetime.date.today - datetime.timedelta(days=1), received_on=datetime.date.today, received_by=factory.SubFactory(CustomerFactory), ) .. code-block:: pycon >>> LocalOrderFactory(received=True) .. note:: When overriding a :class:`Trait`, the whole declaration **MUST** be replaced. .. _strategies: Strategies """""""""" factory_boy supports two main strategies for generating instances, plus stubs. .. data:: BUILD_STRATEGY The 'build' strategy is used when an instance should be created, but not persisted to any datastore. It is usually a simple call to the :meth:`~object.__init__` method of the :attr:`~FactoryOptions.model` class. .. data:: CREATE_STRATEGY The 'create' strategy builds and saves an instance into its appropriate datastore. This is the default strategy of factory_boy; it would typically instantiate an object, then save it: .. code-block:: pycon >>> obj = self._associated_class(*args, **kwargs) >>> obj.save() >>> return obj .. OHAI_VIM* .. warning:: For backward compatibility reasons, the default behaviour of factory_boy is to call ``MyClass.objects.create(*args, **kwargs)`` when using the ``create`` strategy. That policy will be used if the :attr:`associated class ` has an ``objects`` attribute *and* the :meth:`~Factory._create` classmethod of the :class:`Factory` wasn't overridden. .. function:: use_strategy(strategy) *Decorator* Change the default strategy of the decorated :class:`Factory` to the chosen :obj:`strategy`: .. code-block:: python @use_strategy(factory.BUILD_STRATEGY) class UserBuildingFactory(UserFactory): pass .. data:: STUB_STRATEGY The 'stub' strategy is an exception in the factory_boy world: it doesn't return an instance of the :attr:`~FactoryOptions.model` class, and actually doesn't require one to be present. Instead, it returns an instance of :class:`StubObject` whose attributes have been set according to the declarations. .. class:: StubObject(object) A plain, stupid object. No method, no helpers, simply a bunch of attributes. It is typically instantiated, then has its attributes set: .. code-block:: pycon >>> obj = StubObject() >>> obj.x = 1 >>> obj.y = 2 .. class:: StubFactory(Factory) An :attr:`abstract ` :class:`Factory`, with a default strategy set to :data:`STUB_STRATEGY`. .. function:: debug(logger='factory', stream=None) :param str logger: The name of the logger to enable debug for :param file stream: The stream to send debug output to, defaults to :obj:`sys.stderr` Context manager to help debugging factory_boy behavior. It will temporarily put the target logger (e.g ``'factory'``) in debug mode, sending all output to :obj`~sys.stderr`; upon leaving the context, the logging levels are reset. A typical use case is to understand what happens during a single factory call: .. code-block:: python with factory.debug(): obj = TestModel2Factory() This will yield messages similar to those (artificial indentation): .. code-block:: ini BaseFactory: Preparing tests.test_using.TestModel2Factory(extra={}) LazyStub: Computing values for tests.test_using.TestModel2Factory(two=>) SubFactory: Instantiating tests.test_using.TestModelFactory(__containers=(,), one=4), create=True BaseFactory: Preparing tests.test_using.TestModelFactory(extra={'__containers': (,), 'one': 4}) LazyStub: Computing values for tests.test_using.TestModelFactory(one=4) LazyStub: Computed values, got tests.test_using.TestModelFactory(one=4) BaseFactory: Generating tests.test_using.TestModelFactory(one=4) LazyStub: Computed values, got tests.test_using.TestModel2Factory(two=) BaseFactory: Generating tests.test_using.TestModel2Factory(two=) .. _declarations: Declarations ------------ Faker """"" .. class:: Faker(provider, locale=None, **kwargs) .. OHAIVIM** In order to easily define realistic-looking factories, use the :class:`Faker` attribute declaration. This is a wrapper around `fake-factory `_; its argument is the name of a ``fake-factory`` provider: .. code-block:: python class UserFactory(factory.Factory): class Meta: model = User name = factory.Faker('name') .. code-block:: pycon >>> user = UserFactory() >>> user.name 'Lucy Cechtelar' .. attribute:: locale If a custom locale is required for one specific field, use the ``locale`` parameter: .. code-block:: python class UserFactory(factory.Factory): class Meta: model = User name = factory.Faker('name', locale='fr_FR') .. code-block:: pycon >>> user = UserFactory() >>> user.name 'Jean Valjean' .. classmethod:: override_default_locale(cls, locale) If the locale needs to be overridden for a whole test, use :meth:`~factory.Faker.override_default_locale`: .. code-block:: pycon >>> with factory.Faker.override_default_locale('de_DE'): ... UserFactory() .. classmethod:: add_provider(cls, locale=None) Some projects may need to fake fields beyond those provided by ``fake-factory``; in such cases, use :meth:`factory.Faker.add_provider` to declare additional providers for those fields: .. code-block:: python factory.Faker.add_provider(SmileyProvider) class FaceFactory(factory.Factory): class Meta: model = Face smiley = factory.Faker('smiley') LazyFunction """""""""""" .. class:: LazyFunction(method_to_call) The :class:`LazyFunction` is the simplest case where the value of an attribute does not depend on the object being built. It takes as argument a method to call (function, lambda...); that method should not take any argument, though keyword arguments are safe but unused, and return a value. .. code-block:: python class LogFactory(factory.Factory): class Meta: model = models.Log timestamp = factory.LazyFunction(datetime.now) .. code-block:: pycon >>> LogFactory() >>> # The LazyFunction can be overriden >>> LogFactory(timestamp=now - timedelta(days=1)) Decorator ~~~~~~~~~ The class :class:`LazyFunction` does not provide a decorator. For complex cases, use :meth:`LazyAttribute.lazy_attribute` directly. LazyAttribute """"""""""""" .. class:: LazyAttribute(method_to_call) The :class:`LazyAttribute` is a simple yet extremely powerful building brick for extending a :class:`Factory`. It takes as argument a method to call (usually a lambda); that method should accept the object being built as sole argument, and return a value. .. code-block:: python class UserFactory(factory.Factory): class Meta: model = User username = 'john' email = factory.LazyAttribute(lambda o: '%s@example.com' % o.username) .. code-block:: pycon >>> u = UserFactory() >>> u.email 'john@example.com' >>> u = UserFactory(username='leo') >>> u.email 'leo@example.com' The object passed to :class:`LazyAttribute` is not an instance of the target class, but instead a :class:`~containers.LazyStub`: a temporary container that computes the value of all declared fields. Decorator ~~~~~~~~~ .. function:: lazy_attribute If a simple lambda isn't enough, you may use the :meth:`lazy_attribute` decorator instead. This decorates an instance method that should take a single argument, ``self``; the name of the method will be used as the name of the attribute to fill with the return value of the method: .. code-block:: python class UserFactory(factory.Factory) class Meta: model = User name = u"Jean" @factory.lazy_attribute def email(self): # Convert to plain ascii text clean_name = (unicodedata.normalize('NFKD', self.name) .encode('ascii', 'ignore') .decode('utf8')) return u'%s@example.com' % clean_name .. code-block:: pycon >>> joel = UserFactory(name=u"Joël") >>> joel.email u'joel@example.com' Sequence """""""" .. class:: Sequence(lambda, type=int) If a field should be unique, and thus different for all built instances, use a :class:`Sequence`. This declaration takes a single argument, a function accepting a single parameter - the current sequence counter - and returning the related value. .. note:: An extra kwarg argument, ``type``, may be provided. This feature was deprecated in 1.3.0 and will be removed in 2.0.0. .. code-block:: python class UserFactory(factory.Factory) class Meta: model = User phone = factory.Sequence(lambda n: '123-555-%04d' % n) .. code-block:: pycon >>> UserFactory().phone '123-555-0001' >>> UserFactory().phone '123-555-0002' Decorator ~~~~~~~~~ .. function:: sequence As with :meth:`lazy_attribute`, a decorator is available for complex situations. :meth:`sequence` decorates an instance method, whose ``self`` method will actually be the sequence counter - this might be confusing: .. code-block:: python class UserFactory(factory.Factory) class Meta: model = User @factory.sequence def phone(n): a = n // 10000 b = n % 10000 return '%03d-555-%04d' % (a, b) .. code-block:: pycon >>> UserFactory().phone '000-555-9999' >>> UserFactory().phone '001-555-0000' Sharing ~~~~~~~ The sequence counter is shared across all :class:`Sequence` attributes of the :class:`Factory`: .. code-block:: python class UserFactory(factory.Factory): class Meta: model = User phone = factory.Sequence(lambda n: '%04d' % n) office = factory.Sequence(lambda n: 'A23-B%03d' % n) .. code-block:: pycon >>> u = UserFactory() >>> u.phone, u.office '0041', 'A23-B041' >>> u2 = UserFactory() >>> u2.phone, u2.office '0042', 'A23-B042' Inheritance ~~~~~~~~~~~ When a :class:`Factory` inherits from another :class:`Factory` and the `model` of the subclass inherits from the `model` of the parent, the sequence counter is shared across the :class:`Factory` classes: .. code-block:: python class UserFactory(factory.Factory): class Meta: model = User phone = factory.Sequence(lambda n: '123-555-%04d' % n) class EmployeeFactory(UserFactory): office_phone = factory.Sequence(lambda n: '%04d' % n) .. code-block:: pycon >>> u = UserFactory() >>> u.phone '123-555-0001' >>> e = EmployeeFactory() >>> e.phone, e.office_phone '123-555-0002', '0002' >>> u2 = UserFactory() >>> u2.phone '123-555-0003' Forcing a sequence counter ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ If a specific value of the sequence counter is required for one instance, the ``__sequence`` keyword argument should be passed to the factory method. This will force the sequence counter during the call, without altering the class-level value. .. code-block:: python class UserFactory(factory.Factory): class Meta: model = User uid = factory.Sequence(int) .. code-block:: pycon >>> UserFactory() >>> UserFactory() >>> UserFactory(__sequence=42) .. warning:: The impact of setting ``__sequence=n`` on a ``_batch`` call is undefined. Each generated instance may share a same counter, or use incremental values starting from the forced value. LazyAttributeSequence """"""""""""""""""""" .. class:: LazyAttributeSequence(method_to_call) The :class:`LazyAttributeSequence` declaration merges features of :class:`Sequence` and :class:`LazyAttribute`. It takes a single argument, a function whose two parameters are, in order: * The object being built * The sequence counter .. code-block:: python class UserFactory(factory.Factory): class Meta: model = User login = 'john' email = factory.LazyAttributeSequence(lambda o, n: '%s@s%d.example.com' % (o.login, n)) .. code-block:: pycon >>> UserFactory().email 'john@s1.example.com' >>> UserFactory(login='jack').email 'jack@s2.example.com' Decorator ~~~~~~~~~ .. function:: lazy_attribute_sequence(method_to_call) As for :meth:`lazy_attribute` and :meth:`sequence`, the :meth:`lazy_attribute_sequence` handles more complex cases: .. code-block:: python class UserFactory(factory.Factory): class Meta: model = User login = 'john' @lazy_attribute_sequence def email(self, n): bucket = n % 10 return '%s@s%d.example.com' % (self.login, bucket) SubFactory """""""""" .. class:: SubFactory(factory, **kwargs) .. OHAI_VIM** This attribute declaration calls another :class:`Factory` subclass, selecting the same build strategy and collecting extra kwargs in the process. The :class:`SubFactory` attribute should be called with: * A :class:`Factory` subclass as first argument, or the fully qualified import path to that :class:`Factory` (see :ref:`Circular imports `) * An optional set of keyword arguments that should be passed when calling that factory .. note:: When passing an actual :class:`~factory.Factory` for the :attr:`~factory.SubFactory.factory` argument, make sure to pass the class and not instance (i.e no ``()`` after the class): .. code-block:: python class FooFactory(factory.Factory): class Meta: model = Foo bar = factory.SubFactory(BarFactory) # Not BarFactory() Definition ~~~~~~~~~~ .. code-block:: python # A standard factory class UserFactory(factory.Factory): class Meta: model = User # Various fields first_name = 'John' last_name = factory.Sequence(lambda n: 'D%se' % ('o' * n)) # De, Doe, Dooe, Doooe, ... email = factory.LazyAttribute(lambda o: '%s.%s@example.org' % (o.first_name.lower(), o.last_name.lower())) # A factory for an object with a 'User' field class CompanyFactory(factory.Factory): class Meta: model = Company name = factory.Sequence(lambda n: 'FactoryBoyz' + 'z' * n) # Let's use our UserFactory to create that user, and override its first name. owner = factory.SubFactory(UserFactory, first_name='Jack') Calling ~~~~~~~ The wrapping factory will call of the inner factory: .. code-block:: pycon >>> c = CompanyFactory() >>> c # Notice that the first_name was overridden >>> c.owner >>> c.owner.email jack.de@example.org Fields of the :class:`~factory.SubFactory` may be overridden from the external factory: .. code-block:: pycon >>> c = CompanyFactory(owner__first_name='Henry') >>> c.owner # Notice that the updated first_name was propagated to the email LazyAttribute. >>> c.owner.email henry.doe@example.org # It is also possible to override other fields of the SubFactory >>> c = CompanyFactory(owner__last_name='Jones') >>> c.owner >>> c.owner.email henry.jones@example.org Strategies ~~~~~~~~~~ The strategy chosen for the external factory will be propagated to all subfactories: .. code-block:: pycon >>> c = CompanyFactory() >>> c.pk # Saved to the database 3 >>> c.owner.pk # Saved to the database 8 >>> c = CompanyFactory.build() >>> c.pk # Not saved None >>> c.owner.pk # Not saved either None .. _subfactory-circular: Circular imports ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Some factories may rely on each other in a circular manner. This issue can be handled by passing the absolute import path to the target :class:`Factory` to the :class:`SubFactory`. .. versionadded:: 1.3.0 .. code-block:: python class UserFactory(factory.Factory): class Meta: model = User username = 'john' main_group = factory.SubFactory('users.factories.GroupFactory') class GroupFactory(factory.Factory): class Meta: model = Group name = "MyGroup" owner = factory.SubFactory(UserFactory) Obviously, such circular relationships require careful handling of loops: .. code-block:: pycon >>> owner = UserFactory(main_group=None) >>> UserFactory(main_group__owner=owner) SelfAttribute """"""""""""" .. class:: SelfAttribute(dotted_path_to_attribute) Some fields should reference another field of the object being constructed, or an attribute thereof. This is performed by the :class:`~factory.SelfAttribute` declaration. That declaration takes a single argument, a dot-delimited path to the attribute to fetch: .. code-block:: python class UserFactory(factory.Factory) class Meta: model = User birthdate = factory.Sequence(lambda n: datetime.date(2000, 1, 1) + datetime.timedelta(days=n)) birthmonth = factory.SelfAttribute('birthdate.month') .. code-block:: pycon >>> u = UserFactory() >>> u.birthdate date(2000, 3, 15) >>> u.birthmonth 3 Parents ~~~~~~~ When used in conjunction with :class:`~factory.SubFactory`, the :class:`~factory.SelfAttribute` gains an "upward" semantic through the double-dot notation, as used in Python imports. ``factory.SelfAttribute('..country.language')`` means "Select the ``language`` of the ``country`` of the :class:`~factory.Factory` calling me". .. code-block:: python class UserFactory(factory.Factory): class Meta: model = User language = 'en' class CompanyFactory(factory.Factory): class Meta: model = Company country = factory.SubFactory(CountryFactory) owner = factory.SubFactory(UserFactory, language=factory.SelfAttribute('..country.language')) .. code-block:: pycon >>> company = CompanyFactory() >>> company.country.language 'fr' >>> company.owner.language 'fr' Obviously, this "follow parents" ability also handles overriding some attributes on call: .. code-block:: pycon >>> company = CompanyFactory(country=china) >>> company.owner.language 'cn' This feature is also available to :class:`LazyAttribute` and :class:`LazyAttributeSequence`, through the :attr:`~containers.LazyStub.factory_parent` attribute of the passed-in object: .. code-block:: python class CompanyFactory(factory.Factory): class Meta: model = Company country = factory.SubFactory(CountryFactory) owner = factory.SubFactory(UserFactory, language=factory.LazyAttribute(lambda user: user.factory_parent.country.language), ) Iterator """""""" .. class:: Iterator(iterable, cycle=True, getter=None) The :class:`Iterator` declaration takes succesive values from the given iterable. When it is exhausted, it starts again from zero (unless ``cycle=False``). .. attribute:: cycle The ``cycle`` argument is only useful for advanced cases, where the provided iterable has no end (as wishing to cycle it means storing values in memory...). .. versionadded:: 1.3.0 The ``cycle`` argument is available as of v1.3.0; previous versions had a behaviour equivalent to ``cycle=False``. .. attribute:: getter A custom function called on each value returned by the iterable. See the :ref:`iterator-getter` section for details. .. versionadded:: 1.3.0 .. method:: reset() Reset the internal iterator used by the attribute, so that the next value will be the first value generated by the iterator. May be called several times. Each call to the factory will receive the next value from the iterable: .. code-block:: python class UserFactory(factory.Factory) lang = factory.Iterator(['en', 'fr', 'es', 'it', 'de']) .. code-block:: pycon >>> UserFactory().lang 'en' >>> UserFactory().lang 'fr' When a value is passed in for the argument, the iterator will *not* be advanced: .. code-block:: pycon >>> UserFactory().lang 'en' >>> UserFactory(lang='cn').lang 'cn' >>> UserFactory().lang 'fr' .. _iterator-getter: Getter ~~~~~~ Some situations may reuse an existing iterable, using only some component. This is handled by the :attr:`~Iterator.getter` attribute: this is a function that accepts as sole parameter a value from the iterable, and returns an adequate value. .. code-block:: python class UserFactory(factory.Factory): class Meta: model = User # CATEGORY_CHOICES is a list of (key, title) tuples category = factory.Iterator(User.CATEGORY_CHOICES, getter=lambda c: c[0]) Decorator ~~~~~~~~~ .. function:: iterator(func) When generating items of the iterator gets too complex for a simple list comprehension, use the :func:`iterator` decorator: .. warning:: The decorated function takes **no** argument, notably no ``self`` parameter. .. code-block:: python class UserFactory(factory.Factory): class Meta: model = User @factory.iterator def name(): with open('test/data/names.dat', 'r') as f: for line in f: yield line Resetting ~~~~~~~~~ In order to start back at the first value in an :class:`Iterator`, simply call the :meth:`~Iterator.reset` method of that attribute (accessing it from the bare :class:`~Factory` subclass): .. code-block:: pycon >>> UserFactory().lang 'en' >>> UserFactory().lang 'fr' >>> UserFactory.lang.reset() >>> UserFactory().lang 'en' Dict and List """"""""""""" When a factory expects lists or dicts as arguments, such values can be generated through the whole range of factory_boy declarations, with the :class:`Dict` and :class:`List` attributes: .. class:: Dict(params[, dict_factory=factory.DictFactory]) The :class:`Dict` class is used for dict-like attributes. It receives as non-keyword argument a dictionary of fields to define, whose value may be any factory-enabled declarations: .. code-block:: python class UserFactory(factory.Factory): class Meta: model = User is_superuser = False roles = factory.Dict({ 'role1': True, 'role2': False, 'role3': factory.Iterator([True, False]), 'admin': factory.SelfAttribute('..is_superuser'), }) .. note:: Declarations used as a :class:`Dict` values are evaluated within that :class:`Dict`'s context; this means that you must use the ``..foo`` syntax to access fields defined at the factory level. On the other hand, the :class:`Sequence` counter is aligned on the containing factory's one. The :class:`Dict` behaviour can be tuned through the following parameters: .. attribute:: dict_factory The actual factory to use for generating the dict can be set as a keyword argument, if an exotic dictionary-like object (SortedDict, ...) is required. .. class:: List(items[, list_factory=factory.ListFactory]) The :class:`List` can be used for list-like attributes. Internally, the fields are converted into a ``index=value`` dict, which makes it possible to override some values at use time: .. code-block:: python class UserFactory(factory.Factory): class Meta: model = User flags = factory.List([ 'user', 'active', 'admin', ]) .. code-block:: pycon >>> u = UserFactory(flags__2='superadmin') >>> u.flags ['user', 'active', 'superadmin'] The :class:`List` behaviour can be tuned through the following parameters: .. attribute:: list_factory The actual factory to use for generating the list can be set as a keyword argument, if another type (tuple, set, ...) is required. Post-generation hooks """"""""""""""""""""" Some objects expect additional method calls or complex processing for proper definition. For instance, a ``User`` may need to have a related ``Profile``, where the ``Profile`` is built from the ``User`` object. To support this pattern, factory_boy provides the following tools: - :class:`PostGenerationMethodCall`: allows you to hook a particular attribute to a function call - :class:`PostGeneration`: this class allows calling a given function with the generated object as argument - :func:`post_generation`: decorator performing the same functions as :class:`PostGeneration` - :class:`RelatedFactory`: this builds or creates a given factory *after* building/creating the first Factory. Extracting parameters """"""""""""""""""""" All post-building hooks share a common base for picking parameters from the set of attributes passed to the :class:`Factory`. For instance, a :class:`PostGeneration` hook is declared as ``post``: .. code-block:: python class SomeFactory(factory.Factory): class Meta: model = SomeObject @post_generation def post(obj, create, extracted, **kwargs): obj.set_origin(create) .. OHAI_VIM** When calling the factory, some arguments will be extracted for this method: - If a ``post`` argument is passed, it will be passed as the ``extracted`` field - Any argument starting with ``post__XYZ`` will be extracted, its ``post__`` prefix removed, and added to the kwargs passed to the post-generation hook. Extracted arguments won't be passed to the :attr:`~FactoryOptions.model` class. Thus, in the following call: .. code-block:: pycon >>> SomeFactory( post=1, post_x=2, post__y=3, post__z__t=42, ) The ``post`` hook will receive ``1`` as ``extracted`` and ``{'y': 3, 'z__t': 42}`` as keyword arguments; ``{'post_x': 2}`` will be passed to ``SomeFactory._meta.model``. RelatedFactory """""""""""""" .. class:: RelatedFactory(factory, factory_related_name='', **kwargs) .. OHAI_VIM** A :class:`RelatedFactory` behaves mostly like a :class:`SubFactory`, with the main difference that the related :class:`Factory` will be generated *after* the base :class:`Factory`. .. attribute:: factory As for :class:`SubFactory`, the :attr:`factory` argument can be: - A :class:`Factory` subclass - Or the fully qualified path to a :class:`Factory` subclass (see :ref:`subfactory-circular` for details) .. attribute:: name The generated object (where the :class:`RelatedFactory` attribute will set) may be passed to the related factory if the :attr:`factory_related_name` parameter is set. It will be passed as a keyword argument, using the :attr:`name` value as keyword: .. note:: When passing an actual :class:`~factory.Factory` for the :attr:`~factory.RelatedFactory.factory` argument, make sure to pass the class and not instance (i.e no ``()`` after the class): .. code-block:: python class FooFactory(factory.Factory): class Meta: model = Foo bar = factory.RelatedFactory(BarFactory) # Not BarFactory() .. code-block:: python class CityFactory(factory.Factory): class Meta: model = City capital_of = None name = "Toronto" class CountryFactory(factory.Factory): class Meta: model = Country lang = 'fr' capital_city = factory.RelatedFactory(CityFactory, 'capital_of', name="Paris") .. code-block:: pycon >>> france = CountryFactory() >>> City.objects.get(capital_of=france) Extra kwargs may be passed to the related factory, through the usual ``ATTR__SUBATTR`` syntax: .. code-block:: pycon >>> england = CountryFactory(lang='en', capital_city__name="London") >>> City.objects.get(capital_of=england) If a value if passed for the :class:`RelatedFactory` attribute, this disables :class:`RelatedFactory` generation: .. code-block:: pycon >>> france = CountryFactory() >>> paris = City.objects.get() >>> paris >>> reunion = CountryFactory(capital_city=paris) >>> City.objects.count() # No new capital_city generated 1 >>> guyane = CountryFactory(capital_city=paris, capital_city__name='Kourou') >>> City.objects.count() # No new capital_city generated, ``name`` ignored. 1 .. note:: The target of the :class:`RelatedFactory` is evaluated *after* the initial factory has been instantiated. This means that calls to :class:`factory.SelfAttribute` cannot go higher than this :class:`RelatedFactory`: .. code-block:: python class CountryFactory(factory.Factory): class Meta: model = Country lang = 'fr' capital_city = factory.RelatedFactory(CityFactory, 'capital_of', # factory.SelfAttribute('..lang') will crash, since the context of # ``CountryFactory`` has already been evaluated. main_lang=factory.SelfAttribute('capital_of.lang'), ) PostGeneration """""""""""""" .. class:: PostGeneration(callable) The :class:`PostGeneration` declaration performs actions once the model object has been generated. Its sole argument is a callable, that will be called once the base object has been generated. Once the base object has been generated, the provided callable will be called as ``callable(obj, create, extracted, **kwargs)``, where: - ``obj`` is the base object previously generated - ``create`` is a boolean indicating which strategy was used - ``extracted`` is ``None`` unless a value was passed in for the :class:`PostGeneration` declaration at :class:`Factory` declaration time - ``kwargs`` are any extra parameters passed as ``attr__key=value`` when calling the :class:`Factory`: .. code-block:: python class UserFactory(factory.Factory): class Meta: model = User login = 'john' make_mbox = factory.PostGeneration( lambda obj, create, extracted, **kwargs: os.makedirs(obj.login)) .. OHAI_VIM** Decorator ~~~~~~~~~ .. function:: post_generation A decorator is also provided, decorating a single method accepting the same ``obj``, ``created``, ``extracted`` and keyword arguments as :class:`PostGeneration`. .. code-block:: python class UserFactory(factory.Factory): class Meta: model = User login = 'john' @factory.post_generation def mbox(self, create, extracted, **kwargs): if not create: return path = extracted or os.path.join('/tmp/mbox/', self.login) os.path.makedirs(path) return path .. OHAI_VIM** .. code-block:: pycon >>> UserFactory.build() # Nothing was created >>> UserFactory.create() # Creates dir /tmp/mbox/john >>> UserFactory.create(login='jack') # Creates dir /tmp/mbox/jack >>> UserFactory.create(mbox='/tmp/alt') # Creates dir /tmp/alt PostGenerationMethodCall """""""""""""""""""""""" .. class:: PostGenerationMethodCall(method_name, *args, **kwargs) .. OHAI_VIM* The :class:`PostGenerationMethodCall` declaration will call a method on the generated object just after instantiation. This declaration class provides a friendly means of generating attributes of a factory instance during initialization. The declaration is created using the following arguments: .. attribute:: method_name The name of the method to call on the :attr:`~FactoryOptions.model` object .. attribute:: args The default set of unnamed arguments to pass to the method given in :attr:`method_name` .. attribute:: kwargs The default set of keyword arguments to pass to the method given in :attr:`method_name` Once the factory instance has been generated, the method specified in :attr:`~PostGenerationMethodCall.method_name` will be called on the generated object with any arguments specified in the :class:`PostGenerationMethodCall` declaration, by default. For example, to set a default password on a generated User instance during instantiation, we could make a declaration for a ``password`` attribute like below: .. code-block:: python class UserFactory(factory.Factory): class Meta: model = User username = 'user' password = factory.PostGenerationMethodCall('set_password', 'defaultpassword') When we instantiate a user from the ``UserFactory``, the factory will create a password attribute by calling ``User.set_password('defaultpassword')``. Thus, by default, our users will have a password set to ``'defaultpassword'``. .. code-block:: pycon >>> u = UserFactory() # Calls user.set_password('defaultpassword') >>> u.check_password('defaultpassword') True If the :class:`PostGenerationMethodCall` declaration contained no arguments or one argument, an overriding the value can be passed directly to the method through a keyword argument matching the attribute name. For example we can override the default password specified in the declaration above by simply passing in the desired password as a keyword argument to the factory during instantiation. .. code-block:: pycon >>> other_u = UserFactory(password='different') # Calls user.set_password('different') >>> other_u.check_password('defaultpassword') False >>> other_u.check_password('different') True .. note:: For Django models, unless the object method called by :class:`PostGenerationMethodCall` saves the object back to the database, we will have to explicitly remember to save the object back if we performed a ``create()``. .. code-block:: pycon >>> u = UserFactory.create() # u.password has not been saved back to the database >>> u.save() # we must remember to do it ourselves We can avoid this by subclassing from :class:`DjangoModelFactory`, instead, e.g., .. code-block:: python class UserFactory(factory.django.DjangoModelFactory): class Meta: model = User username = 'user' password = factory.PostGenerationMethodCall('set_password', 'defaultpassword') If instead the :class:`PostGenerationMethodCall` declaration uses two or more positional arguments, the overriding value must be an iterable. For example, if we declared the ``password`` attribute like the following, .. code-block:: python class UserFactory(factory.Factory): class Meta: model = User username = 'user' password = factory.PostGenerationMethodCall('set_password', '', 'sha1') then we must be cautious to pass in an iterable for the ``password`` keyword argument when creating an instance from the factory: .. code-block:: pycon >>> UserFactory() # Calls user.set_password('', 'sha1') >>> UserFactory(password=('test', 'md5')) # Calls user.set_password('test', 'md5') >>> # Always pass in a good iterable: >>> UserFactory(password=('test',)) # Calls user.set_password('test') >>> UserFactory(password='test') # Calls user.set_password('t', 'e', 's', 't') .. note:: While this setup provides sane and intuitive defaults for most users, it prevents passing more than one argument when the declaration used zero or one. In such cases, users are advised to either resort to the more powerful :class:`PostGeneration` or to add the second expected argument default value to the :class:`PostGenerationMethodCall` declaration (``PostGenerationMethodCall('method', 'x', 'y_that_is_the_default')``) Keywords extracted from the factory arguments are merged into the defaults present in the :class:`PostGenerationMethodCall` declaration. .. code-block:: pycon >>> UserFactory(password__disabled=True) # Calls user.set_password('', 'sha1', disabled=True) Module-level functions ---------------------- Beyond the :class:`Factory` class and the various :ref:`declarations` classes and methods, factory_boy exposes a few module-level functions, mostly useful for lightweight factory generation. Lightweight factory declaration """"""""""""""""""""""""""""""" .. function:: make_factory(klass, **kwargs) .. OHAI_VIM** The :func:`make_factory` function takes a class, declarations as keyword arguments, and generates a new :class:`Factory` for that class accordingly: .. code-block:: python UserFactory = make_factory(User, login='john', email=factory.LazyAttribute(lambda u: '%s@example.com' % u.login), ) # This is equivalent to: class UserFactory(factory.Factory): class Meta: model = User login = 'john' email = factory.LazyAttribute(lambda u: '%s@example.com' % u.login) An alternate base class to :class:`Factory` can be specified in the ``FACTORY_CLASS`` argument: .. code-block:: python UserFactory = make_factory(models.User, login='john', email=factory.LazyAttribute(lambda u: '%s@example.com' % u.login), FACTORY_CLASS=factory.django.DjangoModelFactory, ) # This is equivalent to: class UserFactory(factory.django.DjangoModelFactory): class Meta: model = models.User login = 'john' email = factory.LazyAttribute(lambda u: '%s@example.com' % u.login) .. versionadded:: 2.0.0 The ``FACTORY_CLASS`` kwarg was added in 2.0.0. Instance building """"""""""""""""" The :mod:`factory` module provides a bunch of shortcuts for creating a factory and extracting instances from them: .. function:: build(klass, FACTORY_CLASS=None, **kwargs) .. function:: build_batch(klass, size, FACTORY_CLASS=None, **kwargs) Create a factory for :obj:`klass` using declarations passed in kwargs; return an instance built from that factory, or a list of :obj:`size` instances (for :func:`build_batch`). :param class klass: Class of the instance to build :param int size: Number of instances to build :param kwargs: Declarations to use for the generated factory :param FACTORY_CLASS: Alternate base class (instead of :class:`Factory`) .. function:: create(klass, FACTORY_CLASS=None, **kwargs) .. function:: create_batch(klass, size, FACTORY_CLASS=None, **kwargs) Create a factory for :obj:`klass` using declarations passed in kwargs; return an instance created from that factory, or a list of :obj:`size` instances (for :func:`create_batch`). :param class klass: Class of the instance to create :param int size: Number of instances to create :param kwargs: Declarations to use for the generated factory :param FACTORY_CLASS: Alternate base class (instead of :class:`Factory`) .. function:: stub(klass, FACTORY_CLASS=None, **kwargs) .. function:: stub_batch(klass, size, FACTORY_CLASS=None, **kwargs) Create a factory for :obj:`klass` using declarations passed in kwargs; return an instance stubbed from that factory, or a list of :obj:`size` instances (for :func:`stub_batch`). :param class klass: Class of the instance to stub :param int size: Number of instances to stub :param kwargs: Declarations to use for the generated factory :param FACTORY_CLASS: Alternate base class (instead of :class:`Factory`) .. function:: generate(klass, strategy, FACTORY_CLASS=None, **kwargs) .. function:: generate_batch(klass, strategy, size, FACTORY_CLASS=None, **kwargs) Create a factory for :obj:`klass` using declarations passed in kwargs; return an instance generated from that factory with the :obj:`strategy` strategy, or a list of :obj:`size` instances (for :func:`generate_batch`). :param class klass: Class of the instance to generate :param str strategy: The strategy to use :param int size: Number of instances to generate :param kwargs: Declarations to use for the generated factory :param FACTORY_CLASS: Alternate base class (instead of :class:`Factory`) .. function:: simple_generate(klass, create, FACTORY_CLASS=None, **kwargs) .. function:: simple_generate_batch(klass, create, size, FACTORY_CLASS=None, **kwargs) Create a factory for :obj:`klass` using declarations passed in kwargs; return an instance generated from that factory according to the :obj:`create` flag, or a list of :obj:`size` instances (for :func:`simple_generate_batch`). :param class klass: Class of the instance to generate :param bool create: Whether to build (``False``) or create (``True``) instances :param int size: Number of instances to generate :param kwargs: Declarations to use for the generated factory :param FACTORY_CLASS: Alternate base class (instead of :class:`Factory`)